Green-card fight brewing

Immigration group plans to sue U.S. agencies over rejected applications

Frustrated by an apparent government foul-up in green-card applications, a number of Twin Cities professionals say they're considering joining a class action lawsuit a national immigration group plans to file soon.

It's not known how many skilled foreign workers here were caught up in the alleged green-card snafu, the apparent result of some sort of miscommunication between the State Department and a backlogged U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

St. Paul immigration attorney David Wilson estimates that at least 1,000 skilled foreign workers in the Twin Cities joined a stampede last month to apply for permanent residency by July 2 after the State Department suddenly opened a window of opportunity on June 12. On July 2, the State Department abruptly reversed its position. The USCIS rejected the applications saying the yearly limit had already been met.

The government can issue about 140,000 employment-based green cards each fiscal year. Unused visas can't be rolled over to the next year.

The American Immigration Law Foundation in Washington, D.C., said Monday it will file a class action lawsuit "shortly" against the two government agencies to try to force them to approve the rejected petitions. A USCIS spokeswoman Monday would only say that she would not describe the situation as a foul-up. A State Department spokeswoman on Monday blamed the situation on poor communication between the agencies. Both said they won't discuss pending litigation.

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Locally, immigration attorneys said the mix-up is symptomatic of the country's broken immigration system. Loan Huynh, an immigration attorney at Fredrickson & Byron in Minneapolis called it "a fiasco." Huynh said she heard of doctors gouging desperate applicants, charging an additional $200 to $300 for exams.

"To have them reject all of them is just outrageous," Huynh said.

"I think it affected every major employer in the Twin Cities," said Wilson, president of the local branch of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "It tells people: We're not taking you seriously. Complying with the law doesn't have any value."

To Shiva Elayedath, a 34-year-old food scientist at General Mills, it means still more limbo. Elayedath, from India, works on a temporary H-1B work visa due to expire next May. He said he almost couldn't believe it when he learned about the State Department's June 12 Visa Bulletin. The monthly notice announced the door was open for skilled foreign workers in the U.S. on a range of temporary work visas to take the final step to permanent residency - filing form I-485, the application to adjust status.

Elayedath scrambled to arrange the necessary medical exams, get his parents and in-laws in India to FedEx documents and work with his attorney to fill out mounds of paperwork. Getting his green card meant his wife could finally get a job, he said, and they would have some security in deciding such matters as whether to start a family.

It all slammed shut when the government about-faced July 2.

"It's just feels like someone pulled a dirty trick on you," Elayedath said. "There's been a lot of discussion on line about what to do next. Everybody's planning to join the lawsuit."

Elayedath said he hasn't made a decision, and wants to consult his employer first.

Immigration Voice, a volunteer nonprofit that primarily exists online, representing skilled foreign workers applying for green cards, is supporting a flower campaign to protest what it called a "flip-flop." Borrowing a nonviolent move from a popular Indian film, it is urging members to send white flowers to USCIS director Emilio Gonzalez. The protest blooms are to arrive at immigration headquarters today.

Nadine Wettstein, director of the legal action center at the American Immigration Law Foundation, said she suspects "several tens of thousands" of visa holders may be eligible for the class action lawsuit. Wettstein said she's been getting a huge positive response from attorneys with potential plaintiffs ready to sign on.

"I've never seen this much outrage and interest in a legal case as this one," Wettstein said.

Jennifer Bjorhus can be reached at jbjorhus@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2146.